Sunday, August 28, 2016

Here at the Rockville 8 we had a recent conversation about bucket lists. Here are some of the items we came up with. What's on yours?

Misha Crews

1) Hike the Appalachian Trail: I'm putting this one at the top
because it's by far the least likely thing I'll accomplish. Although I love
Nature, I mostly appreciate her from a bug-free, climate-controlled
environment. But I've been fascinated by the A.T. ever since I was a child, and
despite the unlikelihood, I still have the hiking of it on my bucket list. I
take comfort from the fact that Emma Gatewood first hiked the Trail when she
was 67, and Lee Barry completed a through-hike at the age of 81. So I have a
few years to build up my strength (and my nerve) and make a go of it.

2) Spend a year doing volunteer work: I'm privileged to
know some amazing people who give most/all of their time to humanitarian
efforts. Although I've occasionally been invited to participate (all great
projects need warm bodies to fill the ranks), I've never been able to do more
than help in a very peripheral way. I'd love to be able to take a solid year,
or more, and do whatever needs doing: disaster relief, literacy programs,
homeless shelters, whatever. To paraphrase George Harrison, it would sure do me
good to do some good.

3) Write all the
stories in my head: Okay, maybe this is the least likely thing I'll accomplish. Like
most writers, I have hundreds, if not thousands, of stories rattling around in my imagination. I would dearly love to write all of them. Even half of them would be pretty darn okay with me.

Keely Thrall1) Like Misha Crews, I have hiking on my mind. When I was in grad school I had to do a little research on el Camino de Santiago for an internship project. I fell in love with the idea of wending my way through northern Spain. I lived on the Costa del Sol for a year when I was a kid, but never explored the rest of the country. The idea of walking in the steps of countless travelers before me fills me with curiosity and a sense of the connections between past-present-future.

2)Go back to school to earn a Ph.D. In what? Who knows. I think the subject matter is less important to me than the journey and the accomplishment of tackling a rigorous challenge. I’m not an academic by nature (I like to make s*** up and that clashes with things like insuring you get your facts straight), but I love academia and the environment of learning.3) Channel Bob Hope. I’m serious! That man had a massage every day. He even traveled with a masseuse. What is not to love about that? The man lived to be 100. You can’t tell me a daily massage had nothing to do with it! (Also, is it just me or did Bob Hope steal his nose from Lorenzo de Medici.

Lisa McQuay

1) Visit all 50 states. I don’t want to just visit but spend quality time finding out what makes that state unique. I would like to take a camper with my husband and spend a few months seeing this country. Visit the Grand Canyon, see the Northern Lights, and go where the road takes us.

2)Go back to school to get a degree in something just for the love of learning. It would be something like English, Journalism, History, or a foreign language. Possibly doing this with an eye to teaching that thing that I love learning.3) Start a non-profit program to help people, especially those suffering from illness. There are so many people who are having difficulty. Even small gestures mean a lot to those who are not well. There are so many opportunities to do good things.

I have a husband, child, and a full-time job. As an adult it's nice to write down the stories in my head rather than let Barbie act them out. She doesn't have much range as an actress. Though she does have some great clothes.

I have a husband, child, and a full-time job. As an adult it's nice to write down the stories in my head rather than let Barbie act them out. She doesn't have much range as an actress. Though she does have some great clothes.

Writer. Reader. Aspiring cat lady. I like to drink coffee and use smiley-faced emoticons, sometimes at the same time.You can read all of my R8 posts at this link, and/or (hopefully "and!") visit me at my website: MishaCrews.com

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Since I just returned from vacation, I thought I'd tell a story in pictures. I didn't do any writing, but as Stephen Covey suggested, I sharpened the saw. In other words, I rejuvenated myself and just allowed my mind to let go of everything that's been stressing me.

Storm rolling in. (copyright)

Aftermath of the storm. (copyright)

Waiting for the play, "Lost Colony," to start on Roanoke Island.
The play was really well done. The fight scene at the end even included
a woman on fire. My daughter said that after the actress ran into the wings,
she saw the stage hands throw her down and extinguish her. Later that
night, my daughter pointed out a shooting star over the set, which went all
the way across the sky from left to right. (copyright)

The pier. I loved the colors.
(copyright)

Fishing boat. The stark white boat looks
so fresh and crisp against the sky. (copyright)

A sand crab trapped at the bottom of the stairwell. We tried to catch him to take him back to the beach but he ended up jumping in the pool. My daughter worked for 10 minutes in 9 feet of water to dip him out of there with the pool net usually used to skim things from the pool. I taught her to crab at a young age and she did me proud. However, when she tried to go up the stairs with him in the net, he leaped back out and was back to square one. We had to leave him because he was too agitated at that point.
This was one angry little crab. (copyright)

After being inside for ten minutes, my daughter said,
"I"m worried about the sand crab. Can I go check on him?"
She went back to rescue him. Even prouder of her concern. (copyright)

My husband and daughter in the foreground, leaving the Wright Brothers Memorial,
the site of the brother's first flight. (copyright)

A serene sunset. (copyright)

All three of us were sunburned on various parts
of our bodies. I'm in the foreground on the raft, my daughter in
the ring. My husband said I looked like a sarcophagus. (copyright)

We went to a nearby national park because we heard that
you could drive through the park and see bears. We saw this
guy on our second trip, standing by the side of the road. He
was right outside my car window, which was as close as anyone
should be to a bear. (copyright)

Sunset at the national park. (copyright)

A wedding at the nearby pier, on the top floor. I thought it looked
magical with all of the lights. My husband is in the doorway downstairs.
(copyright)

(copyright)

Two pictures of the pool and the steps to the beach on our last night. I loved looking
at the pool at night. (copyright)

I have a husband, child, and a full-time job. As an adult it's nice to write down the stories in my head rather than let Barbie act them out. She doesn't have much range as an actress. Though she does have some great clothes.

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